What is a database?
A database is an organised store of data that programs can search, update and share safely, even with many users at once.
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A database is software that stores data in a structured way and answers questions about it quickly. A library is a fair comparison: books are not thrown in a pile, they are catalogued and shelved so you can find any title in seconds. A database does this for customer records, posts, orders or sensor readings, and it keeps the data correct even when many programs write at the same time.
Relational databases such as PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite and Oracle keep data in tables with rows and columns and are queried with SQL. Document stores like MongoDB keep JSON-like records, and Redis keeps simple key value pairs in memory. Nearly every website, app and company system has a database behind it, usually hidden behind an API.
psql -U postgres -c "SELECT version();"See also: What is SQL? and What is a transaction?
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See also
- 0216 MySQL vs MariaDB: what actually differs MariaDB started as a fork of MySQL and still speaks the same client protocol, but GTIDs, JSON storage, authentication and tooling have… Intermediate · Explains an idea · Linux Article Choosing a database · MySQL & MariaDB 15 Oct 2026
- 0231 MongoDB documents and collections compared with SQL tables MongoDB stores data as JSON-like documents grouped in collections instead of rows in tables. This explains the model, the _id field, embedding… Beginner · Explains an idea · Any system Article Basics · Choosing a database 15 Oct 2026
- 0241 Choosing a database: relational, document or key-value Relational databases, document stores like MongoDB and key-value stores like Redis each fit different jobs. An honest look at what each does… Beginner · Explains an idea · Any system Article Choosing a database · Database operations 15 Oct 2026
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